Puvirnituq man dies in police custody

Investigators say man, 39, appears to have died by suicide

JANE GEORGE

A 39-year-old man died July 27 while in custody at the Kativik Regional Police Force station in Puvirnituq. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

The death of a 39-year-old man who was in custody at the Puvirnituq police station on July 27 appears to be the result of a completed suicide attempt, says the Sûreté du Québec provincial police force.

Investigators from the SQ flew to Puvirnituq from Montreal on July 29 to investigate the death.

That’s because a death that occurs within one Quebec police force, such as the Kativik Regional Police Force, is investigated always by another police force.

SQ spokesperson Pierre Tremblay from the Rouyn-Noranda detachment said the name of the deceased would be released following the notification of all his family members.

The man, who was awaiting a court appearance, had been placed under police custody after he broke an undertaking not to consume alcohol and his family informed the KRPF.

The office of the Quebec coroner is expected to produce a report on the death, following the results of the SQ investigation and information received from an autopsy.

The recent death in Puvirnituq is not the first to occur in KRPF cells: in 2009, Mike Shields, 46, who hanged himself in the cell of the police station in Kuujjuaraapik, later died in hospital, without regaining consciousness, and Silas Papak, 36, hanged himself in a Kuujjuaq jail cell in 2007 while in the custody of the KRPF.